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My neighbor gave me a recipe that I'm afraid is full of mystery. This caucasian can't quite wrap my head around some of the directions so here goes.
He calls it "Eggplant Ajantakka".
1. Shallow fry eggplant chunks than add onions and garnish *powder. That is the story. Below is the garnish powder.
Garnish powder:
1 Chana dal 1 cup + udad dal 1 cup > fry or roast with scant oil than mix with cumin, corriander and chillies (fry all together) than grind in a blender.
Clues appreciated.
Take the recipe to your nearest grocery store catering to South Asian Diaspora, and the shopkeeper should be able to help you out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Cumin, coriander, and chilies (I assumed paprika or something similar) are often used in various Indian/Pakistani recipes.
The chana dal part is confusing. Pretty sure that's a dish in its own right. https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/ch...ipe-chana-dal/
"udad dal" [sic] is urad dal, a lentil (I think dal refers to lentil). https://www.tarladalal.com/glossary-urad-dal-941i
Personally, I'd be flustered by the lack of instruction re: frying. I've gotten into preparing South Asian cooking the last few years, and the frying is almost always done as the or one of the initial steps by frying something like an onion in butter/oil/ghee in the presence of spices. This "opens" up the spices and traps the flavor in the onion, which then delivers the flavor into the actual main ingredient (veggies, meats, what have you).
PS. My wife made a chana dal-ish dish a while back. We got a seasoning pack for some lentils/chickpeas we had. Depending on how you make it, the kitchen could smell downright awful for about an hour (I think this is when she treated the beans with sodium bicarbonate, but I can't recall), but the actual food tasted great.
PPS. Warning: neither I nor my wife is of South Asian descent, but I do have a copy of Indian cooking for Instapots and have been making curries/ biryanis/ what have you pretty consistently the last few years. Your post now makes me want to get some okra curry that we got last time (although I should just learn how to cook the damn thing)
Not the answer you were hoping for but we have a friend in Mumbai who is an exceptional cook, she recommends the cookbook from London's Dishoom. Excellent and accessible recipes, some of which can be found via google. We find the biggest challenge is obtaining the various spices...
Channa dahl is dried chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans. Urad dahl is, as noted above, a dried bean like a dark mung bean.
In powder form, channa becomes besan flour.
What your recipe is calling for is essentially spiced mixed besan / urad flour: fry or roast the soaked channa / urad until they are crisp, add the spices then grind to make a coarse spiced flour.
Mark nailed it. "channa becomes besan flour" that was the clue I was looking for and saves me from pleading for clues from my generous neighbor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Kelly
Fair is fair, he is inspired by my Italian and BBQ cooking and I know that often my assumptions fly right past him. So it is certainly fair that I'm struggling.
Anywho, the dish came out fantastic and will be on repeat. Next time it gets some ground chili peppers (omitted for Mrs. Too) and more cumin.
What Mark said is what my Mom would say. The only thing to add is that Urud Dal is only dark because of it's skin. The grain itself is white and looks like this when it is split and husked:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Kelly
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1fff5135_c.jpgDal by shenoi, on Flickr
The husked white version is the mildest as the skin has a stronger flavor i don't care for. Urud dal is of course the base of vada batter, the core of dosa batter along with rice and often dropped into your tempering oil (tadak) to add a bit of crunch to your bailed lentil dalitoye, my Konkan mother's milk.
Keep talking Wisco.
Fortunately I did have Urad dal on hand because of my (failed) dosa trials. LOL I did make a few really decent Dosas however repeatability would be mostly dumb luck and a few more cursed pans ;)
The dalitoye you speak of is one of my personal comfort foods. I did not know it had a name until you said it and googled: https://udupi-recipes.com/dalitoye-d...yle-dal-recipe
My parents are originally from the Udipi area. My dad from a village of a few hundred that farms rice, sugar cane and coconuts. Being Brahmins, they are pure vegetarians with some specific customs of no eggs, fish, or garlic in their cooking. But Indian cooking is a quote diverse thing, so I silently always chuckle about people wanting to eat "curry". I'm happy to see that someone else beside me considers Dalitoye as comfort food. It too is quite diverse in the recipes, but good however you like it. My mom for example makes it quite mild with added chopped green chilies to the cooked dal, plus the tempered red chiles, black mustard and lots of fresh curry leaf. She has a huge curry leaf tree in her back yard in Florida and sends us bags of leaves which freeze nicely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Oh, and I buy pre-made Dosa mix these days as it's so much easier than wet milling things. One of the local Indian groceries has some in large ice cream tubs in their frozen section. Just thaw, scoop out with a ladle to a hot pan and off you go. Not bad, as you saw from my earlier postings on Dosa.
My neighbor, also Brahmin, suggested I buy Dosa mix from the store. Being a stubborn overkill American I scoffed. Now that I'm thoroughly trounced by such a seemingly simple task I see the logic. BTW I have a picture of my neighbor dipping bread into the gravy from the cooker at our annual pig roast. We all lived that day, no gods sought vengeance on our immoral vessel ;) I'm jewish, so it could have been two birds with one smite? Ooooo.
Thanks, I'll visit our local India grocer and ask for the mix. Good suggestion.
I'm similar to your neighbor and went through the Brahmin equivalent of confirmation (Upanayanam or thread ceremony https://vaidicpujas.org/upanayanam/ in India when I was 12, but it was for the family more than for me... another story for another time). But I am not a faithful practitioner unless I'm at the Temple or with some of our relatives. Growing up in America in a multi-cultural neighborhood instead of an Indian immigrant enclave and liberal assimilation-focused parents will do that to you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Funny story, the last time I went to India with my parents I flew home with my Dad through Detroit. After we landed and cleared immigration, we both looked at each other and said, "Let's get a burger"... and went to the McDonalds near the Middle of the main terminal. Definitely not Brahmin approved :cheesy:
A bit OT, but I've gone past McD in India a few times and wondered what kind of meat is used for the burgers. Is it lamb?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisco
I have never actually eaten at a McDonalds in India, but my understanding is that only meat-based burgers offered nationwide are a chicken burger and a fish burger. They also have an aloo (potato patty) and paneer (cheese patty) burger as well. Lamb or mutton would be acceptable to some in the North but never in the South, but I read that McD could not source enough/sufficient quality so they chose not to make a lamb burger for sale in India. Plus I believe the majority of their sales are the potato-based vegetarian items, so why bother with lamb.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chik
Thanks. Makes sense.
@Wisco I'm about to whip up a batch of dalitoye. How important is Asofoetida. I've got some and have avoided it because the nose is really strange. A: get over it B: I'm not alone.
Also piling on @Wisco, which local shop would you recommend? And while we are at it, any good recipes for okra?
For the latter, the recipes i use tend to come out watery. Perhaps i should add cashew flour?
There is no cure for Okra other than batter, fry and give to some unsuspecting rube.Quote:
Originally Posted by echappist
@Too Tall, oh no, that surely can't be?
One of the local Pakistani restaurants does a pretty good take on it. It's actually an off-menu item, but I asked the owner if he serves Okra, and he said he did. Who knows if it's "authentic", but it certainly came out better than my previous attempts.
I'll admire your adventures with Okra from a window seat ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by echappist
This is getting to the point where I may have to ask my Mom to sign up to the VSalon, as I am just a conduit to what she has taught me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Get over it: Asofoetida or "hing" is not essential, but I think it should be. Dalitoye and most other Indian pulse (lentil) dishes need some sourness to balance the grain. That could come from tomato, tamarind water and/or hing. Hing also adds a mild onion/garlic taste which acts as a backbone to your other spices by providing umami notes. Yes it's a strong smell, but it mellows quickly once cooked, especially when in the presence of fat like ghee.
Like 1/8 a teaspoon into the cooking water for the lentils, so some recipes have you add to the oil/ghee used for tempering.
Spice the shit out of it and you can have fun. I don't eat Okra unless it's Indian style. This recipe is similar to Mom's treatment where you split them open, spice stuff, then fryQuote:
Originally Posted by echappist
https://ministryofcurry.com/stuffed-okra/
Key direction: "Add the stuffed okra pieces to the pan, sauté slightly and allow to cook over low heat. Do not over stir, as stirring frequently may make the dish sticky. Note: A non-stick frying pan works really well for this recipe."
Thanks! The spice stuffing part could get interesting. Maybe it’s a sign i should leave this to the pros :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisco
Btw, i have no idea how a restaurant could turn around an okra dish in 20 minutes. I wouldnt have even finished cutting in that amount of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
So you got no time for my gumbo?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisco
Yup I often pick around the okra in a gumbo. Can get slimy and I just don't care for that texture. I guess I should be clear that I have eaten and enjoyed deep fried okra bits in the South. But fried anything is pretty good in the SouthQuote:
Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd
I admit I can't argue with you here with any conviction. I mean, I eat the okra and it serves a purpose there, but I make étouffée much more often than gumbo and fried okra is the arguably the best way to eat it. Pickled is pretty close.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisco
I like okra. Yes, a bit slimy, but I don't mind it: I adore natto, Japanese fermented soybean, which might be a world champ in the slimy category.
Bhindi masala, fried bhindi, aloo bhindi... I enjoy them all.
I'm also fond of the Japanese zen buddhist way of preparing okra. Light and somewhat less slimy, but it is cooked in broth so it's watery.
You haven't lived until you have eaten Paan from a street vendor in Delhi.
Of course I'd eat your Gumbo.
No kidding, India street food is something I'd travel for. My neighbor describes that in excruciating detail.
Did your teeth turn red?Quote:
Originally Posted by vertical_doug
Indian street food is better in Singapore and you're not going to chance getting sickQuote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Out of curiosity, would the Indian fare found in Singapore be more Southern Indian, given the large Tamil diaspora?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wisco
I was going to suggest NJ food court Indian food. A tad closer to @Too Tall, too. Btw, if one likes both Indian and Italian fares, I have just the place to recommend: a strip mall off of Route 27, where the parking lot is not paved. But it does have a BYOB Italian place that serves really good osso buco and an Indian food court. Between the meals, one could even get some in some MTB riding. Almost makes me miss NJ...
Given my south Indian heritage, I have mostly sought out south Indian food in SG, but you are right that NJ is an American mecca of all kinds of Indian food.Quote:
Originally Posted by echappist
Black Daal from the Dishoom cookbook. It was delicious. Most of the local restaurants add some heat to their daal makhani and this is decidedly not spicy.Quote:
Originally Posted by one60
Attachment 117398
Lovely Daal. I'm low and will check out that recipe.